


Melody

by Sneezysoul



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: :), Angst, Arthur-centric, Gen, Not Really Character Death, OOC, Suicidal Thoughts, he gets better though, kind of a dumpster fire but you can enjoy this anyway, lewis is dead, lots of bad thoughts and stuff, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 20:11:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16709239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sneezysoul/pseuds/Sneezysoul
Summary: He feels tears in his eyes, and he just feels numb. He can barely think of anything he’d have to cry over anymore. It was all just mistakes and sins swirling around his thoughts.Killing Lewis was the loudest of them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was all written at 2 in the morning. 
> 
> Totally not something I wrote to be 100% golden, but here you go! Have at it! I'm too lazy to edit this!
> 
> (Hope you enjoy it anyway!)

He hears the tune whenever he tries to sleep; it would play slowly, and if he closed his eyes he could imagine the very first time he heard it. 

Not word for word, but....the memory is still fresh enough in his mind that he didn’t need the complete memory to follow where the song led his thoughts. The song was in his heart, almost. It was dear to him.

Lewis and Vivi laughing, Vivi leaning over the counter to peck her boyfriend on the nose. The tune playing in the background, nearly drowned out by the rain outside, yet still loud enough he could easily hear it.

He remembers how happy they were...they were so happy together. It made him feel warm inside, seeing them smiling at each other. 

They turn to greet him, Mystery running around his legs, small tail wagging.

Lewis says something, hands him a towel to dry off with. It’s soft.

It reminds him that he stole the towel shortly after that. He left it still laying on the bed in his old bedroom, untouched. He wonders if his parents threw it out after he left, along with all of his other things.

Vivi hugs him, he remembers. He remembers complaining about being wet, and how she’ll get wet.

He remembers a larger pair of arms trying their best to wrap around them both afterwards. Lewis laughs as he plants kisses in Arthur’s hair.

They were obviously joke kisses, he believes. Lewis usually did things like that.

The tune continues playing, the melody both upbeat yet soft. His friends let him go.

Vivi smiles at him, and he could still remember how he thought she could outshine the sun with how happy she looks half the time. 

Lewis pats him on the shoulder, before making his way back behind the counter. 

He remembers the tune playing as Vivi handed him a small badge; it was a star. She’d had the badge clipped carefully on her scarf ever since they’d met.

She tells him he’s the bravest guy she ever knew. 

And even if it were the biggest lie in history, he wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe.

That was the day he’d told them he was ready to move out of his parent’s house. They all knew how scared Arthur was of what would happen next.

They knew all this and they helped him anyway.

The memory was small and simple, but it made him feel warm inside. It made him feel warm and happy all at the same time.

He loved the tune, playing quietly in the background.


	2. Chapter 2

He moves it to the side in frustration, the half-complete husk of an arm not doing the job it was built for. It knocks against the desk and lies still. A pencil rolls off the desk and clatters to the floor noisily.

He forgot something. He couldn’t remember what he’d forgotten, though.

A small tune plays on the radio, and even though he can recall what it is, it also slips from his mind. 

The song makes him feel cold. It makes him feel sad, yet he doesn’t know why he feels like this. The song was a happy song. Quiet, but it was happy. It was supposed to be happy.

He unhooks the arm quickly, ignoring the pain he felt as he nearly rips it off. He lets the arm lie on the desk, dead.

The radio continues to play that song, and he’s beginning to feel a headache.

He doesn’t want to get up, though. 

He’s never felt this down in his entire life. He feels guilty. He feels......bad. 

He doesn’t know why he feels this way, and he wonders if it’s because of the arm. He missed his arm a lot...but perhaps they already shot the animal who took it from him, and no one else would have to suffer this.

The door to the garage opens. Vivi walks inside, shuffling around the spare parts and oil stains on the concrete floor.

“Hey....” he greets. He turns off the radio, turning his attention to her.

“Hey.” She replies, “it’s been about five hours. Come get dinner with me.”

He glances back to the....his arm. It wasn’t nearly finished, and he felt a huge craving to work on it for even longer than five hours.

But he knew Vivi would drag him outside with her anyway. She wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to this. 

He hadn’t eaten anything today, anyway.

“Okay.” He smiles, standing up. He’s still wobbly, despite all the therapy he’d taken to walk again. It’s funny how losing an arm can wreck your balance, but it wasn’t a very good joke.

As he’s getting in their van, he thinks he sees purple just outside of his vision. Looking to the side, all he sees is Mystery, taking a seat on Vivi’s lap.

He thinks he hears a tune; he must have forgotten to turn off the radio in the van again.

 

 

 

 

He ends up pulling to the side of the road and asking Vivi to drive.

The song is making it hard to think. The song is trying to drown him.

And he isn’t sure why.


	3. Chapter 3

When he suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night, sweaty and panicked, he remembers.

Lewis....his laugh, his smile...Vivi and Lewis both showering everyone with hugs. He remembers it all.

He ends up getting sick in the bathroom. Vivi is convinced he’d caught a bug from someone at the store they’d visited earlier, but he doesn’t believe her. He can’t believe her. He doesn’t deserve to even be near her.

He’s done a bad thing. He’s done a very bad thing.

The panic never goes away after that. The sickness goes quickly, but the memories stay. They play like a broken song in his head and all he wants to do is shut the tune up shut up _shut up_ -

Vivi is in town, getting some medicine for him. He’s glad because with all the ragged breathes he’s trying to take in, he’s sure he would scare her. He doesn’t want to scare her - she shouldn’t be worried about him.

He’s done the unthinkable, and he feels like he’s dying inside. He wants to die inside. He wants to switch places with Lewis. 

How could he? How could he do that to....how? _How could he?_

_He fucked up he fucked up he fucked up _-__

__He curls himself as tight as he can when a wet tongue meets his hand. Mystery has his ears back, and his glasses are nowhere to be seen. Arthur would joke about that, as he hadn’t seen Mystery without them, but he doesn’t deserve to._ _

__Mystery deserved better than him. Vivi deserved better._ _

__He was a murderer. He killed his best friend._ _

__A loud sob makes its way out of him at that. He has his eyes open, but he barely registers Mystery nose at him._ _

__Within a minute of this, Mystery hops on the bed and worms his way under Arthur’s arm._ _

__

__

__That night, Arthur holds the dog close, the same broken song repeating itself in his head._ _

__

__

__For the following week, Mystery doesn’t let him out of his sights._ _

__Arthur isn’t sure whether to be glad, or guilty._ _


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Tw: Attempted suicide.**
> 
> Also idk how things work bear with me.

The first time he tries, Lance finds him just as he’s settling down behind closed eyelids. 

Lance knew Arthur wasn’t that neat; Lance also knew Arthur had just bought those sleeping pills the other day. ‘Just in case Vivi drags me across the country’, Arthur had told him, as an excuse.

He was too out of it to drink charcoal, from what they tell him afterwards. They had to use a pump.

Vivi had slept in the hospital room with him during his recovery. She only left when the hospital had to practically force her out.

They gave him a therapist to talk to.

How do you tell someone you killed your best friend?

He lies to them. Tells them he’s just.... _tired_.

They give him anti-depressants and a tired mind; hiding things made him feel tired. It made him feel like he was back home, with his parents.

Except instead of hiding that he punched a hole in his bedroom wall, he was hiding murder. And instead of covering it up with an old poster, Lewis’ body was six feet under.

The thought makes his chest hurt. He can practically feel bile climbing up his throat at the thought.

Did Vivi know? She was.....she was there. She was in the cave.

If she knew, would she still have driven him to her place? Told Mystery to keep an eye on him? Would she even look at him, if she knew?

He knew what he did, and he couldn’t look in the mirror anymore; he’s very sure if she knew, she wouldn’t want to look at him either.

He was disgusting.

Mystery stares at him, both relieved and disappointed. He wants to turn away from the dog, but he holds his gaze; _Just get rid of me_ , he wanted to convey.

Except he was pulled aside by Vivi and sat on the couch.

She hands him his metal arm. He’d forgotten that he’d taken it off before....before he tried to leave.

He feels arms around him, then. It feels wrong wrong _wrong_ and yet he couldn’t work up the courage to push them away.

Vivi is humming a tune. He goes to hold her back, wrapping his arm around her. He feels tears in his eyes, and he just feels numb. He can barely think of anything he’d have to cry over anymore. It was all just mistakes and sins swirling around his thoughts.

Killing Lewis was the loudest of them.

He does his best to be quiet, though. The song she hums burns him inside. It scrapes against his ears, and...

And he can’t work up the courage to stop listening. 

He can’t work up the courage to not feel comfort.

 

Eventually, Mystery hops up on the couch as well, when they’re both laying there, enjoying the other’s company, half asleep.

It’s a long night. Vivi doesn’t stop humming until she falls asleep to her own music.

 

 

Music that wasn’t his to hear, he thinks.


	5. Chapter 5

Everything is okay for a while after that. Vivi drags him with her wherever she goes, and he follows her without much of a fight.

They do cases together, exorcising ghosts and making money on the side. They go to parks, walk Mystery around, they visit Vivi’s family....

Vivi was trying to keep him distracted and nearby. He knows this.

He feels even worse thinking about what he’d tried to do a few months ago. He was a wreck. He was a guilty, disgusting wreck who just couldn’t be happy anymore.

He didn’t deserve to be happy. He was a killer.

His victim would never smile again. He would never hear Lewis’ laugh, never see his smile, never be wrapped in those arms....he would never see Lewis again.

Lewis was dead.

The toast he was making earlier is burnt. He should take it out of the toaster.

Lewis was _dead_.

He feels someone shake his shoulder. The toast was making the kitchen stink. What would Vivi think? 

_Lewis was dead._

He’s moving before he really thinks, darting to the bathroom.

He gets sicks again.

 _Lewis was_ dead.

Lewis shouldn’t be dead he didn’t deserve to be dead -

“thur! - Arthur open the door or so help me!”

He sobs. “No.”

He’d locked the door in habit; he didn’t even realize it was locked until he heard Vivi stomp back from wherever she’d gone and unlock it.

She only takes half a look at his state before she’s down on the floor with him, rubbing circles into his back and saying how things will be okay _you’re going to be okay_.

He doesn’t believe her. He can’t believe her. He didn’t deserve her.

She shuts him up with a weak slap on the back. “I deserve you!....C’mon...”

She leads him up. She takes him to the couch - he couldn’t stand to be in Lewis and Vivi’s room, and his room was too far of a walk.

They sit there side by side. She’s holding his hands and he’s not sure how he’s still alive. 

He feels dead inside.

Lewis is dead.

Lewis would never come back.

 

 

 

 

“Arthur.....” Vivi whispers, holding onto his only hand now, folding and splaying his fingers, letting her fingertips run along his hand, much like how she would do with Lewis.

He feels sick again. He doubts he could stand up to head to the bathroom.

He hums, halting her hand with his own, holding her hand still.

That wasn’t meant for him. That was for Lewis.

“Who is Lewis?”


	6. Chapter 6

A song plays on the television when he tries again. 

Vivi and Mystery had fallen asleep hours ago. The silly cartoons flashing on the screen couldn’t save him from himself this time. Cartoons can only do so much.

It would be different, with Lewis here.

But he wasn’t.

He never will be here. He never will come back. He’s gone gone _gone_ and it’s all Arthur’s fault.

He pushed him. He saw him. He.....had seen Lewis.

He couldn’t remember the image vividly; his memory was always bad, but the doctors say it was trauma that kept him from recalling everything.

But he....still got flashes. What he couldn’t remember, his mind would fill in the gaps.

Lewis, gasping for air. Bloody. Impaled.

Blood.

Everywhere.

He is shaking when he stands up. He carefully makes his way to the garage, trying not to make a sound.

Vivi had hidden and locked up a lot of things. What she didn’t lock up were his tools.

He clicks the door to the garage shut behind him. His nerves are shot. He feels numb again. All he can think about is Lewis. All he can think about was Vivi.

Lewis....Lewis was dead.

He killed Lewis.

Arthur couldn’t stop repeating that to himself. After all this time, he still expected to be woken up every morning to a phone call from Lewis. He still expected to see Lewis in the back of their van when he drove.

He missed Lewis. He loved Lewis.

He stares, mind empty, down at the box cutter he held.

He could so very easily end it. He could stab himself and bleed out. He could go to the back yard and just end it all. He could try to tear the blade out and swallow it.

A small click of a door opening....Mystery stands there, staring at him as if lost. The emotions Arthur could see across the dog’s face were few, but many; Anger, confusion, guilt, sadness.

They stare at each other for what felt like forever, but in reality was just a minute.

Arthur closes the box cutter slowly. The clack of it going back into place too loud in the quiet garage.

He tosses it in the garbage can beside the door as he follows Mystery back to the living room.

 

 

 

Mystery, being a dog, doesn’t bring it up later when they’re all awake and ready for the day.

What he does do is bring Arthur his medicine while he’s preparing breakfast.

He’s not sure what to think about it, but a small part of him is sure Mystery understands more than he lets on.

Vivi is non the wiser, talking animatedly about something she’d heard on the news.


	7. Chapter 7

The ghost in the mansion turned out to be Lewis. Lewis turned out to be a huge vengeful spirit who wanted Arthur dead.

If it weren’t for the crazy plant lady outside and what sounded like a shotgun, he would have gladly let Lewis - in fact, he would have even offered to jump off the cliff for Lewis, to make things easier.

But he didn’t.

He couldn’t.

He leaps past the ghost with a fire in his veins he’s not felt in forever. He breaks the illusion of the cave somehow, and charges out of the truck before he can even think that he’s obviously outmatched compared to the woman who had been chasing them. 

He isn’t sure where Lewis is, and he doesn’t care at all. For the first time in a long time he just doesn’t care about Lewis one bit. 

His focus was elsewhere.

His left arm isn’t working too good; the shock Lewis gave him must have fried the insides. 

Vivi is tossed, rolling across the ground, her bat flying off in another direction. Mystery ducks underneath the plant lady, avoiding her blade by just a hair.

Another blast of a gun has Arthur realize that oh he’d driven the van straight to his uncle’s workshop.

The lady loses her arm, and while Arthur doesn’t slow down on his run to Vivi, he feels sick at the sloshing noise the lady makes as the limb regrows.

He jokes mentally on whether or not to ask her what’s her secret.

He barely hears the roar Lewis lets out as Arthur stops by Vivi’s side.

“C’mon get up get up!” He says quickly, trying to lift her to her feet.

She stumbles, but she doesn’t fall, “Arthur? What?”

Mystery ducks between Arthur and Vivi, running behind them.

Plant lady is in front of them, scissors open, and he doesn’t hesitate to lift his arms in fright.

The scissors make a loud metallic shriek as they close around his metal arm. 

He opens his eyes, not even realizing he’d closed them.

The arm that was previously fixable was now toast, to saw the least, held on by a few strands of metal that the scissors didn’t manage to cut.

The lady looks caught off guard. Before she seems to realize what had happened, she’s knocked aside by purple flames.

Lewis finally joined in.

Arthur isn’t too sure he’s happy about that.

He’s tugged to the side, just in time to avoid another fire ball. Vivi grabs his wrist and they both make a run for the van.

“Why are we heading to the van?” Arthur asks.

“Chalk!” Vivi answers, before they make it to said vehicle, Vivi crawling inside. Mystery had hopped in along with her, whining and trembling. Poor guy.

Vivi is tossing things aside and making even more of a mess in her search. Arthur keeps an eye on the fight; Lance stood at a safe distance on the other side of the yard, which made Arthur feel a little better. He wasn’t sure he could run at a crazy demon plant again. He’s not sure he wants to test her patience.

“A-ha!” Vivi says, holding up a large stick of chalk.

Arthur suddenly realizes....

“There’s no sidewalks here!”

It was like he’d thrown a handful of salt on a birthday cake at the look she had at that. There was nothing to write on. The road outside was too damaged.

Arthur could only pray that Lewis was angry enough to take care of the plant lady before getting to Arthur. 

Then a thought strikes him quickly:

“You still have those markers?” He asks, “The ones you used to sketch the logo on the van?”

She looks unsure, “Yeah, why?”

Glancing back to the battle, he’s even more sure about this decision; tearing his ruined arm off hurt, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as what would happen if that lady realized Lewis counted as a distraction.

Vivi gasps as he tears the remaining wires out. It felt like he’d just sucker punched his arm. He ignores it, sliding it to her.

“Write!” 

He doesn’t know what she scribbles down on his arm. He doesn’t care to think that the arm took him several months to finish and plan out. He just wanted that demon gone. 

He wanted his family to be safe.

Vivi doesn’t bother putting the cap back on the marker as she rushes out, arm in hand, “I’m gonna hit her with it!” she exclaims, like she was having the most fun of her life.

Arthur wasn’t sure if Vivi was terrified right now, or if she really was really good at what she does.

He runs along with her. He doesn’t want to, at first, but his feet carry him alongside her, and he finds he just doesn’t care. 

He Feels oddly numb, facing the danger head-on. He couldn’t think.

Was this what Vivi felt when chasing ghosts?

Lewis and the plant lady were both locked in place. Lewis holding the scissors open and the lady doing her best to snip him in half.

Vivi leaps into the danger zone, taking her chance.

It was kinda funny, and Arthur would probably be laughing at it later. The way his friend swung his arm like it was some kind of weapon. The face the demon made when it collided with the back of her head.

It was even funnier that was all it took for the demon to die. An arm....hah! An arm! Hitting her with someone’s ripped off arm!

She looked like she needed a hand!

He....oh boy.....he felt like the adrenaline was going to his head.

Vivi lets out a loud victory ‘hurrah!’ as she holds the arm up in triumph. Mystery bounds out of the van to them, sensing the danger was gone, little tail wagging.

That is, until he saw Lewis. 

Lance clicks his shotgun, “Well shit. You’ve got some talkin’ to do, boy.” he says, looking to Arthur.

Arthur is too shaky to reply. He feels a little lightheaded. Though whether from the chase, to the risks he took, or tearing off his arm, he wasn’t sure. Maybe a combination of the three. Or more.

Vivi gasps.

“Lewis?”


	8. Chapter 8

A tune plays in his mind when he closes his eyes.

It’s not the same tune he knows, anymore. It’s warped. It’s different.

Not as lovely as the first, but it felt like it was trying to relearn the notes. That was okay. He had a long time to wait. Music took time.

Vivi had managed to make Lewis agree to become a part of their group again, insisting that if he harmed Arthur that she would find a way to revive Lewis and kill him herself.

She didn’t know the full story, but she did remember Arthur losing his arm right after.....after he pushed Lewis.

She has a few ideas about what happened; maybe a bear was there, maybe a demon or something. A demon could easily rip off his arm.

He tries not to listen to her when she talks about it like that.

He knows why he’s jumpy around Mystery. He can remember some of what had happened, but he wasn’t sure if it were a dream or not.

He knew the dog was different. He’d known all along. He just didn’t want to think about it.

Mystery, as if sensing him awake, snuffs his face several times before giving him a lick. Arthur makes a noise, reaching up to wipe the spit off.

He blinks open his eyes, giving Mystery a smile. He reaches out to pet him behind the ear.

Lewis and Vivi are both chatting in the front seats of the van, Lewis somehow changing his looks to match how he used to be, just in case someone spotted him.

It was pretty late, though. Arthur was sure the guy just missed driving the van.

He couldn’t say anything about that, since.....well....

He was still guilty.

No matter how much Vivi said that Arthur wasn’t at fault, and that he wasn’t a killer, he was sure that him and Lewis both knew that Arthur was still a murderer, and sweeping the dirt under the rug wasn’t going to make that sin any cleaner.

Lewis hasn’t spoken to him yet. Lewis just...tended to stare at him.

It was haunting, really.

It made Arthur uncomfortable. 

He started wearing longer sleeves, started bringing small twigs of sage with him when he was near Lewis. 

He would have dropped the whole paranormal thing if it weren’t for Vivi’s enthusiasm about them being all together again.

A broken dream, he thinks.

He sits up, back against the front passenger seat. Mystery wiggles his way into Arthur’s arms, and he allows it, hugging the small dog close, running his fingers through soft fur. 

At least he could count on Mystery.

Vivi had began to call him the cowardly lion of the group; Brave only when he needed to be.

That was far from the truth, really. He was only brave for his family. His little broken family of Vivi, Lance, and Mystery.

And maybe Lewis, now, but Lewis didn’t seem like he needed Arthur to be brave.

He was never brave for himself. What lion couldn’t be brave for themselves? 

Lewis chuckles up front at something Vivi says. She’s telling him about the happy things that happened after he’d died. Arthur didn’t even know half of the things she told him, so he just figured it was only for Lewis to know.

The thought doesn’t hurt him as much as it used to. Lewis was here. Lewis wasn’t alive, but he was here.

Sadly, things would never be the same.

They both hadn’t spoken, but it didn’t need to be spoken; Lewis would never forgive him, lost arm or no.

And Arthur couldn’t blame him one bit. 

He’d never forgive himself, either.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls note this was super rushed and idc kthnxbye
> 
> (I mean i do care but im just rly nervous abt showing this haha)

“You guys haven’t talked to each other in a while,” Vivi says while they set up their ghost equipment, “is something wrong?”

Arthur has his back to her, but he hears Lewis give another excuse; “Just been busy.”

She never bought the excuses, and Arthur is sure one of these days she was going to tie them together in the back of the van and force them to talk.

He turns on the camera device he’d finally set up on a tripod. He had to face it toward the back hallway, just in case. This wasn’t the ghost’s reported route, but it could happen.

“And you, Arthur?” Vivi asks, hands on her hips. 

It was obvious that she was growing tired of this charade. Maybe he should go sit in the van.

He tries to answer her as close to the truth as he can, “I don’t know what to say to him.”

He can feel Lewis’ eyes at the back of his head, and he can’t help but shiver. Lewis still scared him. Lewis only held back for Vivi’s sake.

“Maybe a ‘hi, sorry I pushed you I was being attacked’?” she supplies.

She still believes something attacked Arthur in that cave....Arthur couldn’t correct her, since he himself couldn’t quite remember then, either.

“Hi, sorry I pushed you,” he repeats, “something attacked me.”

Lewis doesn’t respond.

A minute later Vivi throws her hands up, “Okay! You know what? Mystery! C’mere boy!” she calls. Mystery comes up the stairs, bounding her way in small leaps. It would be adorable if Arthur didn’t know what he was.

Which he doesn’t. Mystery was some kind of monster.

He doesn’t have the whole story, though, and as much as he wants to flinch away when Mystery is near him, he couldn’t; Mystery was there for him when no one else was. 

Mystery was family.

Vivi laughs, scooping up a bag of equipment and giving Mystery a pat on the head, “Me and Mystery are heading downstairs. You two stick together!” she commands.

Oh no.

The tripod before him nearly falls; he caught it just in time.

“What? Why?” Arthur asks. He’s only met with quiet after he realizes she’d already booked it down the stairs.

He sighs. Typical Vivi. She’d taken to leaving Lewis with him for the past month, now. It may have only been three cases before this one where she did this, but it just made him feel even more anxious.

Why didn’t Lewis just take advantage of this? Break the floor in using ghost powers or something, make a chandelier fall on him, _something other than stare at him_?

He swallows. His mouth was dry.

Setting the equipment by himself took a little longer than with two people, but he didn’t think he could ask Lewis to help. Lewis obviously didn’t even want to be here, as he kept glancing at the stairs.

Arthur is nervous. Chewing on gum helped him a lot, but he’d forgotten to pick some up a while ago. He wasn’t allowed to use his phone on cases, either, so he had nothing to listen to.

It was way too quiet. He hated quiet. He hated thinking.

He hums a silly tune, trying to distract himself. It turns into something that felt familiar, but was wrong all the same. He’d forgotten half of the melody.

The cameras were all placed here. He takes the rest of what he has and heads to the bedrooms. Lewis floats along a distance behind him.

He’d only brought cameras with him this time, sadly. Vivi figured that since they have a ghost on the team, he’d be able to translate and spot any ghosts that weren’t entirely obvious. Arthur agrees; sure beats setting up more devices.

He may love the stuff he’d built for their cases, but trying to fix them after a ghost decides they don’t like the noises they make was really tiring. He’d rather spend his time on other things.

Lewis hums a small note.

Arthur’s tune stops.

He gives the ghost a questioning look. Lewis just floats there, still.

Silent as the grave.

He turns back to setting cameras in the first bedroom; the pink walls and old crib giving him the creeps. Adult ghosts were fine, but Arthur is terrified of children ghosts. 

Kids can be cruel without realizing it. Ghost kids? No thank you.

He finds himself humming again, the same half-tune. He could barely remember the notes anymore. It’s quieter, now. He feels curious at the hum Lewis let out a second ago, but he wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask.

Talking to Lewis just.....didn’t feel right anymore; he couldn’t even ask a question, or look in the ghost’s direction for long.

Pathetic, really.

Cameras set, he takes up the empty bag they’d once been in, putting the strap over his shoulder. There was still some weight to it, as he had no use for the extra lenses and speakers, but it was a comfortable weight anyway.

“There’s nothing here.”

Arthur startles, quickly turning to the ghost. 

There’s no expression on the ghost’s face. None that Arthur could read, anyway.

It takes a moment for him to clear his throat, “W-what.....what do you mean?”

The ghost sets his feet on the ground. Arthur shivers at the glowing eyes that look him over. 

“There’s nothing here; No ghosts are here or were here.”

A few beats of Lewis’ golden heart are the only noise in the room. Arthur briefly wonders how Lewis could deal with the noise.

“So....uh....” he licks his lips, “there’s no ghosts here? W-why did Vivi bring us here then -”

At the look Lewis sends him, the sentence trails off.

“Oh.”

It was obvious why she would fake a case, or find a case without paranormal happenings.

She was headstrong. Arthur should have known she would do something similar to locking them up in a room.

Though, he’s sure if he just walked away, Lewis would let him. Lewis didn’t seem too keen on talking to Arthur. Lewis had done his best to show Arthur that he was no longer welcome around the ghost.

Which was fine by Arthur.

He deserved the cold shoulder.

“So....I guess we talk.” Lewis states, crossing his arms. He hadn’t bothered to look like his old self for this case, as the owners were out of town, from what Vivi had said. 

Though no matter the form Lewis took, Arthur still felt the same about him.

Lewis sighs in frustration, “look; I don’t like you. You killed me.” 

Arthur feels a chill running down his spine. Hearing it from the ghost himself just made that fact all too real. He blinks forcefully, trying to keep his nerves at bay.

He’s failing, of course. He deserves to be told the truth by Lewis; he killed him, and because of that Lewis had every right to tell Arthur this. He had every right to not like Arthur.

Even if it made it seem way too real for Arthur. He’d gone so long without thinking about that too clearly.

He was feeling a little sick.

“Okay.” Arthur agrees. He backs up into the room, keeping his eyes on Lewis as he kneels down, sitting on his heels to tinker with the camera; might as well take it down, if this case was fake.

He could hear the raised eyebrow in the tone Lewis uses, “okay?” he says slowly.

Taking down the tripod was quick. All you had to do was twist some knobs and it folded in on itself. Arthur does it quickly, appreciating that feature.

Arthur doesn’t elaborate. He feels like he should run downstairs, away from the ghost. The way this conversation felt was similar to the times Arthur would fight with his dad; it just felt like it’d be better if he were quiet.

Besides, he was fine if Lewis doesn’t like him. He didn’t deserve to be liked. Especially by him.

Lewis didn’t know that, though. He lifts a hand to pinch the spot where the bridge of his nose would have been. An old habit he used to do all the time when he was frustrated, or getting there.

“Alright, so I don’t like you at all. You’re okay with this? You have nothing to say at all?”

Arthur looks up sheepishly from the bag he was stuffing the camera in, “not really. Uhm....have you t-talked to Vivi about this?”

“No. She still thinks we’re best friends.” Lewis answers. Arthur hadn’t even noticed how close the ghost was until Lewis is practically looking down at him. “You’re not going to plead innocence or anything? Nothing?”

Arthur shakily stands up. Lewis floats back, giving him room.

He wants to say he doesn’t deserve forgiveness; he wants to tell Lewis everything he could remember from that night in the cave. He also wanted to say he was innocent. He wanted a lot of things.

But he knows he's not innocent.

He killed Lewis.

And even though he was here now, that would never change. 

He shakes his head, lifting the bag to his shoulder once more, he takes in a shaky breath,“I don’t know what to say.”

Lewis hums, “you haven’t known what to say for a while.” he states, voice sounding tired.

Arthur shakes his head again.

“How about this:” Lewis says, “we can both continue avoiding each other, but when Vivi is looking, we pretend.”

That sounds like a really bad idea, but because Arthur wants this conversation to end, he nods, “okay.”

“Don’t think we’re on even terms, though.” Lewis huffs, “I won’t forgive you for what you’ve done. We’re not friends.”

Another nod.

Another okay.

“Arthur?”

Arthur hums, arm idly picking at the strap of the camera bag.

“Get out of my sight.” Lewis demands.

Arthur doesn’t hesitate taking his leave; Lewis moves to the side in a wide arch, avoiding the other the same way he’d been doing before.

Arthur pauses in the doorway. His nerves were wack, and he knew if he didn’t head downstairs now he would just get worse. But a part of him just wanted to say something to Lewis. Something he hadn’t been able to say yet.

“I....” he starts slowly, not daring to turn around to face the ghost, “I know it doesn’t mean much....but I really missed you.” he takes a long breath, half expecting a gruff retort from the ghost, “I’m glad....I-I’m glad I found you.”

And he was glad; Lewis was dead, but at least Lewis was back. At least Lewis was here, and everyone was happy he was back again, even if things were different now.

Before, Arthur felt like the one member of Mystery Skulls that just didn’t truly belong. He didn’t like that, back then. Which was part of the reason he pushed Lewis, he thinks.

But right now, he didn’t care one bit. Lewis was back, and even if the ghost hated his guts, Arthur was glad.

After a minute of silence from the other, Arthur has little courage for any reply Lewis could have given; he walks downstairs with a finality. 

His steps were never sure before, but this time he felt like they had a purpose.

Even if that purpose was just walking away from Lewis.


End file.
